A recent publication suggests that sperm counts may be declining all across the western world

It is been all over the news lately. Some in the media have even suggested this may bring our doom as a species. So, what's the real story behind this...

A recent paper published suggests that sperm counts may be declining in Western countries.

While this is not entirely new, it is a continuation of a trend that has been noted for years. This there has been a decline in sperm quality noted in the United States and other western nations. The authors compiled studies done over a number of years including:

185 studies

over 42,000 men

between 1973 and 2011

from US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand

Over the 39 years, the sperm concentration dropped 52.4% and the total sperm count went down 59.3%, a hugh decline.

While this is concerning, it raises even more questions:

Have the counts really declined or is it just the techniques used to count the sperm?

If the counts are going down, is it actually affecting male fertility?